The Picky Eater

Here’s a great list Jenn Gish put together about picky eaters. Not sure it’s going to help me though. I have one kid that will only eat grilled cheese and one that will only eat plain pasta. Connor is my most flexible food kid. Which is kind of funny considering he has Asperger’s and Aspies are KNOWN for their inflexibility!!

1) Don’t stuff them: Young children will usually reserve eating for when they’re hungry, according to the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit medical organization dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of disease, so don’t force meals or snacks.
“After a year of rapid growth (the average 1-year-old has tripled her birth weight), toddlers gain weight more slowly. So, of course, they need less food,” says renowned pediatrician Dr. William Sears at http://www.askdrsears.com. “The fact that these little ones are always on the go also affects their eating patterns. They don’t sit still for anything, even food.”
Sears says children ages 1 to 3 need between 1,000 and 1,300 calories a day, but may not hit that goal daily. Instead, he says, aim for a nutritionally-balanced week.

2) Be cool: Showing that you’re unhappy about their pickiness or being overly insistent about finishing meals, will only initiate a power struggle. And 2-year-olds can set records for stubbornness.

3) You’ve got to keep it separated: Choose your battles, and mixing food may not be the area where you want to take a stand. So, serve a sandwich in “separates” rather than piled together and offer stir-fry or casserole ingredients as individual items, the Mayo Clinic suggests.

4) Work with their nature: An on-the-go tot isn’t necessarily going to happily sit down for three square meals a day. Sears suggests offering a “nibble tray,” of bite-size colorful and nutritious foods — such as apple slices, avocado quarters, banana slices, broccoli florets, carrot sticks, cheese cubes, hard-boiled egg wedges, or toasted oat cereal — portioned out into the compartments of an ice cube tray or muffin tin. Just be careful, in the interest of food safety, not to leave the tray out for too long.

5) Watch the clock: Don’t offer juice and snacks for at least one hour before meals, the Mayo Clinic advises. Otherwise, you fill up those already small stomachs well before mealtime.

2 Responses

Eating and sleeping can make any parent crazy. Isabella loved applesauce but only Hannaford’s which was fine when I used to shop there. When I began using the Coop, she suddenly revolted. I tried pouring Musselman’s into the Hannaford jar when she was napping but she knew! We tried a variety of things to no avail-she would look at the applesauce and shake her head until someone brought home the Hannaford. She truly was exasperating but now will eat or at least try everything-which is good since she is going to be 12!